Chapter 56

“Why are you coming out of there?”

9:30 PM. Just 30 minutes left until the library closed.

It was pretty late, but the magic lights in the reading room were shining bright, thanks to two students still buried in their books.

Noa was one of them.

She was diligently reading the book brought to her by Ervan the librarian earlier, uncovering a few fascinating facts.

‘The bloodline of Rudrik refers to the descendants of the great hero Kazan Rudrik from the ancient desert kingdom.’

This part was as expected.

After all, they share a name.

These Rudrik descendants had established their own power in the desert, forming an organization beyond mere tribes.

‘…Desert Order.’

A group referred to as “cultists” by the Empire.

Of course, not all cultists were Rudrik’s bloodline, but the book mentioned that a substantial part of the Order’s upper echelons was composed of them.

‘The goal of Rudrik’s bloodline is to comply with the will of their ancestor Kazan, transforming all beasts in the world into demon beasts.’

This goal perfectly aligned with that of the Desert Order.

It’s no wonder they were a thorn in the side of the Empire.

Not just the Empire, any kingdom struggling against demon beasts would be less than pleased with their agenda.

‘Thus, the Empire intends to wipe out the chaos-causing Desert Order completely.’

The massive frontline established along the southern borders adjacent to the desert was for this very reason.

‘But…’

The Empire’s army had ventured into the desert a few times, but they had never reached the heart of the Desert Order.

There’s only one reason for that. The special demon beasts serving the Desert Order.

‘Minions of Rudrik.’

These were entities once directly commanded by Kazan Rudrik. Collectively, the three known as the strongest were called the “Minions of Rudrik.”

And now, the book Noa was reading contained information on these Minions.

‘Cursed monsters that have been sealed and unsealed repeatedly over many years.’

However, because they had accumulated immense power during this process, they exceeded the maximum designated rank for demon beasts, now classified as outliers.

The list of minions was as follows:

• *A monster bird that breathes eternal flames.


• *A toxic snake that multiplies endlessly.


• *The White Wolf that lurks in the mist.

Among these, the ones serving the Order were just the monster bird and the snake. The latterly mentioned “White Wolf” had disappeared along with Kazan.

But then.

Noa, studying the part about the White Wolf, suddenly widened her eyes.

‘Huh?’

Her eyes blinked in surprise.

Her gaze landed on the section detailing the White Wolf. There, it stated:

‘The White Wolf, born from the mist, is said to manipulate the power of the mist at will. If a wolf’s howl is heard while the fog thickens, it indicates the presence of the White Wolf nearby.’

‘Wait a second, this sounds familiar…’

It resembled the demon beast I know?

The protagonist of the hunting event scheduled for next month during the mock battle. A powerful demon beast rampaging after being unsealed.

‘Misty White Wolf.’

At least, the part about the White Wolf is identical.

Furthermore, the ability to manipulate the mist and the wolf howl coinciding perfectly matches with Misty White Wolf.

‘That means…’

There’s only one implication here.

It means that the “White Wolf that lurks in the mist” and “Misty White Wolf” are the same entity.

In other words, they are one of the Minions of Rudrik.

This was information I never knew back when I was a gamer.

Noa’s mind was a jumbled mess.

But soon enough, she regained her composure.

‘…Let’s break it down.’

The bloodline of Rudrik is descended from Kazan Rudrik.

Most of them belong to the cultists of the Desert Order, and they aim to transform beasts into demon beasts, following the will of their ancestor Kazan.

‘Next is Silfi Rudrik.’

She’s a classmate from the same year.

Based on the information obtained so far, the chances are high that she is a descendant of Kazan.

And that also means Silfi might be from the Desert Order’s cultists.

‘So why would a Rudrik bloodline member enroll in Arsen Academy?’

There has to be something they are after.

When she first started reading, she had no idea of the enrollment’s purpose. But now, some ideas began to form.

‘The White Wolf that lurks in the mist.’

The demon beast scheduled to appear during the mock battle.

Could it be related to the last Minion of Rudrik? Perhaps they are trying to unseal the White Wolf and re-command it?

If they succeeded in controlling the White Wolf, the Desert Order would effectively dominate all of Rudrik’s Minions.

However, something gnawed at her mind.

‘But if Silfi is that significant, she should be mentioned in the original work.’

But she wasn’t mentioned at all.

It was the first time hearing her name, and the Desert Order wasn’t even part of the main story in the original work.

As new questions began to surface.

Knock knock!

The sudden sound of someone tapping the book was enough to shatter Noa’s train of thought.

“Only 10 minutes left until the library closes. Please wrap up and prepare to exit.”

It was Ervan’s voice.

Time had flown by, hadn’t it?

Noa stood up with a startled expression. She looked back at the book she had just been immersed in.

‘I almost finished, but…’

Still, it’d be wise to check it out.

Just in case she missed something, she planned to read it slowly again. As she turned to leave with the book in hand.

She ran into a student on the opposite side.

“Huh?”

A girl clutching a swordsmanship book.

It was Ivella, the future sword master.

Noa was taken by surprise, not expecting Ivella to be one of the students in the reading room. Ivella seemed a bit startled too.

But that was only for a moment.

Noa raised her hand. Since they were in the same class, she thought of greeting her.

But in that instant.

An unexpected event unfolded.

“…!?”

Suddenly, Noa’s eyes shot wide open.

She felt the flow of magic twisting violently.

But that wasn’t all. From the east came a gigantic wave of magic, crashing in like a tide.

Crack!

Was it the overwhelming force that had just surged in?

The magic lights illuminating the reading room shattered into pieces.

And with that darkness came Ivella, seemingly startled as she scanned the surroundings.

“What’s going on? Why did this suddenly happen…?”

On the other hand, Noa, who grasped the situation, was less flustered than Ivella.

But that was only for a brief moment.

She caught sight of the scene outside the window, and her expression turned to shock.

“T-That’s…!”

In the direction of the Eastern Forest.

A thick layer of mist was flowing out from there. Soon after, the faint sound of wolves howling reached their ears.

This phenomenon was a prelude to an event that was supposed to happen a month later.

The unsealing of the “Misty White Wolf.”

2.

It was 9:30 PM.

While Noa was engrossed in her book in the reading room, someone ventured into the sparsely populated forest. A girl with ash-grey hair and glasses, she kneeled deep within the woods.

The girl was a new student at Arsen Academy.

Silfi Rudina, majoring in the general studies department.

However, that was merely a facade created to achieve her goals.

Her true name was Silfi Rudrik.

The only daughter of the 29th Grand Master leading the Desert Order, and a member of Rudrik’s bloodline that the Empire was keen on capturing.

The reason she enrolled in Arsen Academy was direct and to the point; to extract the stake before her.

“……”

A giant stake half-buried in the ground.

This stake, carved from blue stone, was a mechanism designed to suppress and seal the power of a certain demon beast sleeping here.

‘The White Wolf that lurks in the mist.’

One of Kazan Rudrik’s three Minions.

Silfi’s goal was to pull out this stake that sealed the power of the White Wolf, then control the White Wolf and return to the Order.

Only for this, she had crossed over to Arsen Academy, facing various dangers.

‘It was really tough.’

She had to wash her name and nationality.

A past that didn’t exist had to be conveniently fabricated too.

Moreover, even if she accomplished these conditions, entering Arsen would not be an easy feat.

Those with unclear identities were denied the right to take exams.

Just as she was struggling through this ordeal.

Unexpected luck came her way. A prominent Grand Noble from the Empire made contact with the Order.

‘Count Dermore.’

A man who, with a single-minded obsession to revive his dead daughter, contacted the Desert Order. At any rate, thanks to the recommendation letter he provided, Silfi was able to enroll safely into Arsen Academy.

After all, the reason she worked so hard to come here was all for one crucial objective.

‘To become the next Grand Master of the Desert Order, I must earn the recognition of the Minions of Rudrik.’

The Minions of Rudrik are the divine beasts of the Order.

If she fails to gain their recognition, she wouldn’t even qualify to take the heir examination.

Unfortunately, Silfi had not gained recognition from the monster bird and the toxic snake.

There remains only one option.

The last Minion of Rudrik, the White Wolf, said to be sealed in the Source of Magic, east of Arsen.

‘I know how to unseal it.’

The White Wolf lurking in the mist was sealed by eight stakes engraved with various incantations. So, if all eight stakes were removed, the seal would be broken.

And fortunately, because of the many years of neglect, five of the stakes had rotted away.

‘I removed the remaining two stakes myself.’

Now only one remained.

The stake right in front of her.

‘But the problem is…’

The amount of magic required to pull out the stake was overwhelmingly large.

The two stakes she had already removed had only taken about three days of magic to pry loose.

‘But this one is different.’

Only five seconds after she touched the stake.

She was utterly drained of magic. The reason Silfi was kneeling down now was that her magic had been forcibly stripped away.

At the same time, she sensed.

That extracting this stake would require far more time and magic than before.

‘I wish I could just pull it out with brute force.’

Of course, that was unrealistic.

To extract this massive stake, she would need to be a giant from legends.

‘Or Ulan, perhaps.’

With thoughts of someone that suddenly popped in her head.

Silfi chuckled.

‘Ulan Bator.’

A barbarian student from her class.

Even during the entrance ceremony, Ulan had shown a distinct presence. If she were to be honest, she didn’t want to be in the same class as him.

The reason was simple.

To unseal the White Wolf, she needed to operate stealthily, and being with Ulan would likely draw attention.

‘And then there was that time when they got caught in the river rapids.’

The so-called Source of Magic disappearance incident.

Now that she mentioned it, there was a moment when she genuinely thought she was going to die.

Describing the Source of Magic taught by the Desert Order was akin to dreading a descent into the abyss of Hell.

With a bit of shame, she realized her tears back then were genuine, rather than being an act.

But that was only for a short while.

After discovering the ruins leading into a cave and realizing they were ancient desert kingdom ruins, her fear transformed into intrigue and curiosity.

‘I still don’t know why there are ruins of a desert kingdom at the Source of Magic…’

But looking at the outcome, venturing into those ruins turned out to be good fortune for Silfi.

When faced with three trials inside, she experienced the trial of talent and discovered her unique skill in taming demon beasts.

‘Of course, I’m still not perfect.’

But isn’t having that talent something?

Thus, after escaping the ruins, she immediately set to work on unsealing the White Wolf.

‘Ah, right. Speaking of which…’

There’s something that had been bothering her.

It was the enchantment that Ulan had acquired as a reward. Every time she looked at that enchantment, it evoked a strange feeling of familiarity and longing.

‘Have I seen it somewhere before?’

She rifled through her memories, but nothing came to mind.

But this was merely curiosity. So, Silfi quickly shook off the thought.

What mattered now was the stake before her.

‘Let’s focus on this for the time being.’

It shouldn’t be difficult.

Now that the crucial moment had arrived, she performed a special spell on the ground to prevent potential surveillance. A spell that would reveal her presence if anyone stepped on the earth.

And so far.

There hadn’t been a hint of surveillance.

‘Once the seal of the White Wolf is broken…’

She planned to demand loyalty as a price for unsealing it. After that, she would leave the Academy and return in triumph to her Order.

Dreaming of that rosy future ahead.

Silfi stood, determined to return to the dormitory before it got any later.

However, she was unaware.

That there was someone observing her actions from atop a tree the whole time.

3.

After Silfi completely vanished from sight.

The giant tree from which she had previously sat stirred. Shortly after, a massive figure jumped down to the ground.

Thud!

With a short thundering sound, the figure arose.

It was Ulan, who had remained in the tree. He loosened his stiff body and gazed at the direction Silfi had disappeared into.

“What a pity. I just wanted to say hello.”

If he were to be honest, that’s how he felt.

She was one of the few friends he had made at the Academy.

But he held back. Currently, Ulan was under suspension, and interacting with others would mean violating the terms.

“I guess it can’t be helped.”

He couldn’t break his promise to the Inspector.

He’d just say they saw each other in the woods later. After organizing his thoughts, Ulan looked around him.

“But there aren’t any fruits around here.”

No fruits, not even a tree.

All that existed was the uncomfortably barren ground and the stake made of blue stone.

“Hmm? A stake?”

Why is this here?

Ulan tilted his head.

Then he suddenly noticed that the stake looked like it had been partially pulled out.

“Did Silfi try pulling it out but gave up?”

Now that he remembered, she had held it with both hands and then knelt down.

It seemed like she had sat down after straining to pull it out.

He didn’t know the reason behind her trying to pull it out, but it must have been important if she came out here alone in the dead of night to do so.

After observing the stake for a moment, Ulan made his decision.

“I should pull it out instead.”

Then Silfi would be happy when she returned.

Wrapping up his simple speculation.

Ulan dusted off his palms. Then just as he placed his hands on the stake to pull it out.

“Hmm?”

A strange sensation washed over him.

What was it? It felt like it was trying to stick to his palm, as if it was absorbing his spirit?

But to get straight to the point, it was useless.

As a Master, Ulan’s spirit was as solid as stone. No matter how much the stake tried to draw him in, it remained stone-still.

So Ulan shrugged it off.

Instead, he wrapped his hands around the stake, channeling all his strength into his arms. His muscles bulged as he exerted force. The stake began to shake gradually.

Crack! Crunch!

With vibrations, the stake started to come loose bit by bit.

Surprisingly, it took significant effort.

‘It’s no wonder Silfi couldn’t pull this out.’

Even Ulan needed to exert almost all of his strength. There’s no way she could have managed.

It was definitely the right choice to help her out.

Ulan tightened his core and back, put all his might into it, and pulled the stake out forcefully.

With a loud pop! Whoosh!

The stake was cleanly removed.

And soon the reason it had taken so much effort was revealed.

The stake was lodged much deeper than expected. The part above ground was less than one-fourth of what was buried.

“Anyways, Silfi should be satisfied with this.”

As he casually tossed the stake aside.

Suddenly, a twist of fate struck.

Thrum! Boom!

Intense vibrations erupted from below the ground.

But that wasn’t all. Dense fog began to thicken around where the stake had been.

Howl—!

The sound of wolves echoed.

There wasn’t just one. The howls of dozens of wolves resounded simultaneously. In this strange situation, Ulan tilted his head in confusion.

“Are there wolves in this forest?”

He didn’t see a single one on his way here.

This place was not even suitable for wolves to live.

For wolves to inhabit, there should be prey, yet there were no rabbits or even deer in the Eastern Forest.

But his puzzled expression didn’t last long.

Suddenly, Ulan’s gaze sharpened as he sensed a familiar energy beyond the fog.

“…Demon Beast.”

It was a powerful demon beast.

Gripping the black-hearted axe on his back, Ulan fixated his gaze into the mist.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but…”

The ground shakes, the fog rolls in, and now demon beasts appear?

Honestly, he was baffled about the whole situation.

But one thing was undeniably clear to him.

Since a demon beast had appeared before him, his path was singular.

“Eliminating it should solve the problem.”

To resolve any issue, simply eliminating the source would suffice.

With a straightforward resolve, Ulan stepped into the mist.

With his fiercely shining axe in hand.

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